Woods entered the tee box at 15 at 5-under and tied for the lead. He played the hole beautifully, laying up his second shot to around 87 yards. He hit a perfect shot onto the green with a 60-degree wedge, a shot that turned out to be a little too perfect. The ball struck the flag pin and bounced back and into the water hazard. The hazard at 15 is a Red Lateral Hazard, which falls under 26-1c of the 2013-1015 USGA Rules and Decisions.

Tiger had several options for continuing play once his ball got wet. He could play the ball from the hazard, replay the shot from the original position incurring a one-point penalty, or he could take straight line from the hole to where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard and take a drop anywhere behind that point, keeping within that line and incurring a one-point penalty.

In reading the rules it appears that there is a fourth option involving taking a drop on either side of the hazard, taking a drop within two club-lengths of where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard, but there is some confusion as to whether this would be in play at a Red Lateral, or not.